J.A. Jance delivers yet again with a thriller about a serial killer, titled Blessing of the Lost Girls. This novel combines characters from two of her series, Joanna Brady and Walker Family, but it can easily be read as a stand-alone book. For those not familiar with the two series, Joanna Brady is a sheriff in Arizona. The Walker Family series featured Native Americans from the Tohono O’Odham reservation in Arizona.
The reader is introduced to Dan Pardee, who is a field agent in a newly formed agency, Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MIP). He is also Brandon Walker’s son-in-law. MIP has a mission to investigate unsolved cases that involve the disappearances and deaths of Native Americans. Dan is handed a case involving the burned remains of a young female Apache. The body had been found 3 years prior but was just recently identified. When MIP shares Dan's files with other MIP field agents, it quickly becomes evident that there are similar cases and that a serial killer is behind the disappearances and deaths.
Dan gets in touch with Sheriff Joanna Brady who is over the county where the remains were found. It turns out that Joanna’s daughter Jenny knew the victim and is also friends with another girl who was attacked at a rodeo. The girl has a pair of glasses that belong to her attacker, and his fingerprints are still on them.
The serial killer, Charlie Milton, goes from rodeo to rodeo seeking out his victims. His victims of choice are Native American women as their disappearances have traditionally been ignored by law enforcement. He is a slippery predator and has gotten away with murder time and again. It takes several people working together to catch this elusive serial killer.
This story is unique as it highlights Native American heroes. It also puts a light on a culture that has been largely ignored in the past. There are traditional Native American stories within the book. As to the title, Blessing of the Lost Girls, it becomes evident at the end of the novel that it has a powerful meaning. I think you will enjoy this volume by J.A. Jance.
